Hammer...I understand that they can
, but I was asking if they do
, once they've got a production design and the line set-up? Improving the round would probably entail a significant budget for range and R&D time allocated for that purpose. Then, if improvements were found, and management decided to go ahead with the improvement, it would require additional costs to re-tool.
My guess is that if there was competition for a popular cartridge (e.g., .22LR, .308, 30-06, 12Ga, etc.), Winchester would make changes as necessary to remain competitive. But at the present time the .17WSM doesn't seem to be a "hot item" with numerous manufacturers lining up to make the rifle or the ammo. In fact, since the case is a derivative of an established Winchester product, they would likely maintain the .17WSM patent protection until it expires--17 years, I think. So that would leave Winchester as the only game in town for ammo. So I was just asking if ammunition makers routinely undertake improvement programs.